Contents

Collection Overview

Historical Note

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Organization of the Collection

Search Terms

Hampshire Inter-Library Center (HILC) Records, 1913-1996 (bulk 1951-1996)

Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Gregory Wilson, Susan A. Dayall.

Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

© 2002

Historical Note

The Hampshire Inter-Library Center (HILC), formally established in 1951, is one of the oldest library consortia in the United States. The institutional members of the consortium were the geographically adjacent Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges later joined by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and by Hampshire College when it opened in 1970. HILC was intended to foster library cooperation and resource sharing, and maintained a shared collection of less used and expensive reference and periodical material for the use of those institutions of higher education. HILC's Governing Board originally consisted of the Presidents and chief Librarians of each institution, as well as a faculty member from each. In 1968 the Presidents delegated their membership to the Coordinator of Five Colleges, Inc. The Librarians, known as the Management Committee, administered HILC and also selected its material. In 1971, the Librarians delegated acquisitions responsibility to a new HILC Selection Committee, consisting of a representative from each institution (usually a reference librarian or bibliographer), and renamed themselves the Librarians Council, which maintained administrative oversight of HILC, but became more concerned with Five College library cooperative activities.

In 1977, the Librarians came to the conclusion that HILC's separately housed and staffed collection was no longer cost effective. The collection was dispersed among the member libraries. The then HILC librarian, Gregory Wilson, gathered material from HILC's office files and from the member institutions to form an archival collection documenting the history of HILC. This material forms the first part of this collection.

In 1981, the Librarians Council submitted a Library Automation proposal to the directors of Five Colleges, Inc. (the Presidents of the the Colleges and Chancellor of the University). The records of this project form the remainder of the archive. They were contributed by Gai Carpenter, Director of Library and Information Services at Hampshire College, and Project Manager of the Five College Library Automation Project from 1981-1996.

HILC continues to exist as a library consortium. The daily courier service between the libraries is the one remaining service it provides. The Librarians Council has continued to meet and serves as the governing body for all library cooperation among the five institutions. At this writing (2002), the Five College Library Depository, a storage facility for little-used items, is fast becoming a reality, but it will be operated under the auspices of Five Colleges, Inc., not the HILC consortium.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The records of the Hampshire Inter-Library Center include minutes and correspondence of the governing bodies and committees of the consortium, publications by and about the center, subject files maintained by the HILC librarian as well as by some of the individual libraries, staff records, budget and financial records, union lists, order records for the HILC collection and records of its dispersal. The Library Automation Project records include RFPs for the two library systems (LS/2000 and Innovative Interfaces), committee records, contracts, correspondence, training materials and manuals for each of the systems.

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Search Terms

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Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into sixteen series:

• I. Bylaws and Legal Agreements
• II. Board of Directors, 1951-1978
• III. Cooperative Projects, 1913-1951
• IV. Management Committee/Librarians Council, 1951-1978
• V. Selection Committee and Other Committees, 1971-1978
• VI. Annual Reports and Newsletters
• VII. Memorandums to and from Libraries, 1951-1978
• VIII. Public Relations
• IX. Subject Files
• X. Order Book, 1951-1978
• XI. Studies and Reports, 1941-1978
• XII. Audits and Financial Statements, 1952-1978
• XIII. Budget, 1951-1978
• XIV. Union Lists
• XV. Dispersal Process, 1977-1978
• XVI. Five College Library Automation Project, 1981-1996

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Series 1: BYLAWS and LEGAL AGREEMENTS

Grouped here are all documents of a legal nature, including copies of contracts and agreements made by HILC with its members or with other organizations.

Here one will also find the Guide to the HILC Archives (1951-1978) prepared by HILC Librarian Gregory Wilson with any related material which might help identify the location of specific items.

Series 2: BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 1951-1978

The HILC Board of Directors, created in 1951, approves and develops the budget, major policy changes, and long range plans. The Librarians Council, previously known as the Management Committee, is responsible to the HILC Board. Originally the Board was comprised of the President of each institution, one faculty member from each institution, and the Librarians. However, in 1968 the Presidents delegated their Board membership to one representative: the Coordinator of Five Colleges, Inc. The Coordinator refers all substantive issues related to HILC to the Directors of Five Colleges, Inc. (the four Presidents and Chancellor of the University). Board meetings are held twice a year.

The official minutes of the HILC Board of Directors are chronologically arranged. There is a file folder containing annual lists of Board members and an index to the Board meetings of 1951-1971.

Series 3: COOPERATIVE PROJECTS, 1913-1951

Here one will find correspondence and memorandums related to cooperative projects preceding the formation of HILC. Librarians tend to think of cooperation as a new venture. However, a Smith College publication, Circular no.2 of 1876, provides this interesting comment on early five college library cooperation:

"Around Northampton, as a center, are grouped some of our most important educational institutions. It is only a short distance from the rare and extensive art, and scientific collections of Amherst College, and the conservatories of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, to all of which any student can have free access for study or recreation. Williston Seminary is only four miles to the west, and Mount Holyoke Seminary only seven miles to the south. Different members of the same family can thus be educated near each other, and the cabinets, libraries, and various educational appliances of these neighboring institutions be made mutually serviceable."

Of more recent interest are the folders dealing with the joint purchase of microfilmed materials in the late 1930's and the attempt to develop a union list of current subscriptions for the valley libraries in 1947. Notes and Minutes of informal cooperative meetings of the librarians of various institutions are also housed here. This file would be of interest to any student of library history. Note for example the comment of Miss F.B. Ludington on February 8, 1939: "After considerable anguish I have decided to order the N.Y. Times on film, beginning with the 1939 issue, I may live to regret it."

These records, dating back to 1913 and particularly strong in the 1930's and 1940's, indicate strong cooperation prevailed among the Colleges before the establishment of HILC. Note for example the Jan. 20, 1914 letter from Robert Fletcher, Librarian of Amherst, to Bertha Blakely, Librarian of Mount Holyoke:

"I have always been convinced that we (the Colleges and Forbes) did much too little in the way of co-operative work and this (creation of a Valley Union List of Serials) would be a good entering wedge..."

Among the records of unusual interest is what appears to be the first cooperative Valley Union List of Serials: Periodicals of Chemical Interest in the Connecticut Valley 1913

Correspondence, reports and memorandums also include information on the following:

a) Typed Union List of Serials in specific subject areas; Chemistry (1913), German journals in philosophy and psychology (1919), etc.

b) Publication of a printed Union List of Serials held by the libraries of Mount Holyoke, Amherst, Smith, Forbes and the Agricultural College (1917+)-

c) Coordination of acquisitions and cancellations to reduce duplication of little used serials (1916*).

d) Free exchange of duplicate or unwanted materials (1931+).

e) Exchange of information concerning expensive purchases (1941).

f) Joint purchase of expensive research tools.

It is generally agreed that HILC grew out of a series of meetings in 1940 and. 1941 sponsored by Mr. Fremont Rider, Librarian of Wesleyan College. Mr. Rider's 11 page, The Regional University Library-Dream or Practical Possibility of October, 1937 and the subsequent 30 page, A Regional Joint University Library for Central New England of December 14, 1940; are yet to be found. However, reports and memorandums of the meetings called by Mr. Rider were found in these files and are as follows:

[Connecticut Valley Plan]. A series of notes of meeting con- cerning regional cooperation; 1940-

a) Notes of meetings of Nine College Libraries called at Hartford, Dec. 18, 1940 by Mr. Rider. 5 P-

b) A memorandum on the meeting held at Hartford Dec. 18, [1941] by the Librarians of nine central New England Colleges to discuss Mr. Rider's proposal for a regional Joint University Library. [Dec., 1941] 3 p.

c) Agenda for 2nd meeting. Hartford, Jan. 28, 1941. 3 p.

d) [Miss Ludington's] memo on meeting held Dec. 18, 1940 in Hartford. 3 p.

e) Notes on the meeting in Hartford on Tuesday, January 28, 1941. 4 p.

f) Suggested Agenda for discussion Third meeting, Connecticut Valley Library Group. 5 p.

g) Notes on the meeting of the Connecticut Valley College Library Group, Hartford, February 25, 1941. 3 p.

h) Notes on the meeting of the Connecticut Valley College Library Group, Cambridge, Mass., May 16, 1941. 6 p.

Series 4: MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE/LIBRARIANS COUNCIL, 1951-1978

As early as the 1930's, the Valley Librarians met on a regular basis to consider cooperative programs; but the group did not have a name or an official status until HILC's incorporation in 1951.

Beginning in 1947 the Librarians of Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Smith began to formalize their cooperative projects. They met regularly, sometimes at the request of their Presidents, to explore cooperative ventures, particularly the reduction of periodical titles and a proposed cooperative storage library. This eventually lead to the incorporation of HILC in September of 1951. Notes and minutes of Librarians meeting before HILC's incorporation will be found in Section 3 COOPERATIVE PROJECTS 1938-1951

When HILC was established in 1951, it was administered by the member librarians which formed a group, subsequently known as the Management Committee. Meeting once a month, it governed the Center, set short range plans, selected materials and developed reader services. The Management Committee was responsible to the HILC Board of Directors. The first meeting of the incorporated HILC Management Committee was on September 17, 1951. The present Librarians Council which succeed the Management Committee, was formed at its meeting of January 14, 1971.

The Librarians Council freed itself of acquisition responsibility by delegating collection development to a new Selection Committee. It continued its role of providing management direction to the Center and expanded its discussion and concern for all five college cooperative library activity. The Council like the Management Committee remained responsible to the HILC Board.

The Minutes of the Management Committee and the Librarians Council are arranged chronologically. The minutes are fairly systematic, listing members attending the meetings, topics discussed and decisions made. From 1972-75 routine minutes were not systematically made, and thus one must rely on note summaries of the meetings or memorandums discussing decisions made at the meetings. Some correspondence will be found in the folders of each meeting.

Series 5: SELECTION COMMITTEE and OTHER COMMITTEES, 1971-1978

In 1971 the Librarians Council delegated the responsibility of selecting HILC's materials to the Reference and Bibliographic staff of the member institutions, thus forming a HILC Selection Committee which met once a month.

Minutes of the Selection Committee begin with February 23, 1971 and continue to the present date. The minutes record discussion on all aspects of HILC's collection development; including acquisitions, rejections and pooling of various materials from the member's collections. HILC acquisition decisions prior to 1971 will be found with the Management Committee Minutes but those since 1971 are contained in the Selection Committee Minutes. Beginning in 1977 when it became apparent that HILC's library collection was going to be dissolved, meetings were held less frequently and official minutes were not routinely kept. Records concerned with the 1977 cancellation of HILC materials will be found here but information related to the redistribution of the collection to the member libraries will be found in Section 15, DISPERSAL PROCESS

There are other Five College Library committees that meet less frequently than the HILC Selection Committee, such as the Interlibrary Loan Committee and Circulation Librarians Committee. Unlike the Selection Committee, these groups are not HILC committees, but rather are committees of a five college nature, responsible to the Librarians Council, Also, special groups known as task forces are often created by the Council to study a specific problem. The minutes and policy statements of these groups will be found under Other Committees. However, some of the task force reports might be found in Section 11, STUDIES and REPORTS

Series 6: ANNUAL REPORTS and NEWSLETTERS

In August of 1952 the first annual report was published by HILC and printed by the famous Stinehour Press in Vermont. Annual reports were printed up to the sixteenth annual report of June 30, 1967. The seventeerth annual report (June 30, 1968) was mimeographed. In 1969 and 1970 no annual reports were issued. However, in June of 1971 HILC's Librarian, V.K. Greenbie, wrote A Four Year Report for the Fiscal Periods July 1, 1967 through June 30, 1971 This document serves as the eighteenth to twentieth annual reports. In June 1972, the twenty-first annual report, which was mimeographed, became the last annual report issued as a separate publication.

The newsletter started with v.1 in 1955 with 4 issues a year. In 1955/56 (v.2) the issues were increased to 6 a year, this policy remaining until 1959/60 (v.5). In 1960/61 (v.6) the issues were reduced to four times a year and then in 1961/62 (v.7) to three times a year. In 1965/66 (v.11) the newsletter was published twice a year and in 1971/72 (v.17) it became and has remained an annual publication. Beginning with v.17 the newsletter filled the function of an annual report although there is no notation to that effect.

Two copies of each annual report and newsletter are arranged chronologically.

Series 7: MEMORANDUMS TO AND FROM LIBRARIES, 1951-1978

Memorandums covering all aspects of HILC business are arranged chronologically in five boxes. The coverage for the first twenty years appears to be more definitive then for the last five years. Many, if not the majority, of these memorandums are duplicated in the other sections, particularly in the Subject Files.

Series 8: PUBLIC RELATIONS

In this section, newspaper clippings and journal articles are arranged chronologically in folders covering approximately five year periods. Publications by HILC or Five Colleges Inc., which are guides to the use of the HILC collection or which make mention of HILC's role in Five College cooperation, will also be found here. Bibliographic listings of holdings will be found in Section l UNION LISTS. There is a folder of photographs relating to the library and personnel. Correspondence related to public relations and printing of guides, etc., is more likely to be found here than in Section 9 SUBJECT FILE

Series 9: SUBJECT FILES

The subject file contains alphabetically arranged folders concerned with specific topics of HILC business. The HILC files from each college were integrated with HILC's office file. Whenever practical the name of the institution contributing the file folder was written on the folder. Each of the subject files contain memorandums to and from libraries which might also be found in Section 7 MEMORANDUMS TO AND FROM MEMBERS (where they are chronologically arranged). The convenience of having the memorandums arranged both by subject and by date was felt to be sufficiently more important than the savings that would result from eliminating the duplication.

Series 10: ORDER BOOK, 1951-1978

The HILC order books are found here, with correspondence to publishers that is related to collection development. The earlier years, when HILC was aggressively building its collection, appear to be more interesting.

Series 11: STUDIES and REPORTS, 1941-1978

Gathered here are reports and studies both internal and external, concerning HILC and its role in Five College cooperation. Surveying this file provides one with an interesting insight into the problems and concerns of maintaining a cooperative library system.

There is an indication, as one reads these various reports, that HILC never was totally satisfactory. In fact the 1978 phasing out of HILC's cooperative storage collection had its origin twenty-three years earlier when faculty began to question a basic concept. They asked, "Will the character of our library be changed in fifty years by the policy of buying for HILC the expensive research tools... If the answer is 'No' what policies can be devised to make sure of this? Perhaps emphasis on coordinated buying but continued possession by the individual libraries?" (See Section 9, SUBJECT FILE, folder on criticism of HILC)

From that prophetic question to the present, the studies indicate an undercurrent of concern that HILC was not functioning as it should. The 1957 Metcalf evaluation was a major attempt to address this situation. Its recommendations to augment both the HILC membership and collection size were never fully accepted. A similiar institution, MILC, which did increase its collection and membership, grew during this period from a local effort to the national resource, CRL. Metcalf's evaluation coincided with the University's metamorphosis from a medium size agrarian institution to a major University. As the University's library collection grew, it began to duplicate other local collections. As early as 1961, the University Librarian made it clear that the University Library could not be bound by any cooperative acquisition policy. (See Section 11, STUDIES and REPORTS, Relationship of Forbes Library.) As duplication increased, the exclusiveness of HILC diminished. By 1975, 882 of HILC's 2,378 titles were duplicated at the University or other members collections. Evaluated on the criteria of patron use, it was obvious HILC would not be judged cost effective. From the Metcalf study to the present, a series of individuals and groups sought to analyze the problems of HILC by seeking new definitions of purpose or by developing options for future growth. Consensus was not reached until the Librarians Council joined forces with the Coordinator of Five Colleges and sponsored an intensive investigation of the Center in 1977.

All of the studies are chronologically arranged by the name of the person writing the study or by a key word taken from the report's title. Correspondence and memorandums related to each study taken from subject files gathered at each institution and HILC were placed with its respective study. Some of the items included in this section are not studies in the strict sense, but rather memorandums concerned with one aspect of HILC's development or operation. Often, particularly with the less extensive studies and reports, it was difficult to establish the exact author or title. Accordingly the list should be considered as a guide rather than a definitive bibliographic citation.

Series 12: AUDITS and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, 1952-1978

These sections contain information related to financial matters, and are arranged by budgetary year, beginning with 1951-1952. The folders contain the annual audits, monthly budget expenditures (when available), proposed budgets, approved budgets, and other correspondence and memorandums directly related to the budget. Detailed studies of the budget or proposals suggesting major budget revisions are more likely to be found in Section 11, STUDIES and REPORTS

An attempt was made to group together all correspondence and budget statements in the most appropriate budgetary year folder. Thus a memo written in February 1968 concerning the proposed budget for 1968-1969 will usually be found in the folder BUDGET 1968-1969 rather than the folder BUDGET 1967-1968. Other correspondence was generally arranged chronologically in the appropriate folder. It is suggested that if sought after information is not found in a given year, the folders before and after that year should be investigated.

Series 13: BUDGET, 1951-1978

These sections contain information related to financial matters, and are arranged by budgetary year, beginning with 1951-1952. The folders contain the annual audits, monthly budget expenditures (when available), proposed budgets, approved budgets, and other correspondence and memorandums directly related to the budget. Detailed studies of the budget or proposals suggesting major budget revisions are more likely to be found in Section 11, STUDIES and REPORTS

An attempt was made to group together all correspondence and budget statements in the most appropriate budgetary year folder. Thus a memo written in February 1968 concerning the proposed budget for 1968-1969 will usually be found in the folder BUDGET 1968-1969 rather than the folder BUDGET 1967-1968. Other correspondence was generally arranged chronologically in the appropriate folder. It is suggested that if sought after information is not found in a given year, the folders before and after that year should be investigated.

Series 14: UNION LISTS

All Union Lists made by HILC or the five colleges are found here. The file contains all editions of the Pioneer Valley Union List of Serials and the various lists made by the Asian, African Studies Program. Very early Union Lists of the college libraries will also be found in Section 3 COOPERATIVE PROJECTS 1938-1951

Series 15: DISPERSAL PROCESS, 1977-1978

This file contains all of the working lists and correspondence involved in' the dispersal of HILC's collection to its members.

Series 16: FIVE COLLEGE LIBRARY AUTOMATION PROJECT, 1981-1996

On February 26, 1981, the Librarians Council submitted a proposal for Five College Library Automation to the directors of Five Colleges, Inc., thus inaugurating the Library Automation Project. This project eventually resulted in the full automation of Five College Library collections and services. Initial implementation was accomplished through OCLC's local library system, LS/2000. The system was still in development when the contract was signed, and Hampshire College was the first installation of LS/2000, going live in 1983. When the needs of the Five Colleges outgrew the capabilities of LS/2000, the Five College Libraries selected Innovative Interfaces, Inc., as the successor system, and successfully migrated bibliographic and other data to the new system in 1994.

This file contains, in roughly chronological order, documentation produced by, or gathered for the project. Included are the Requests for Proposals of 1981 and 1992, responses by several vendors, committee reports, profiling documentation, training materials, and the Project Manager's chronological files of incoming and outgoing correspondence. All materials were transmitted to the HILC archives by Gai Carpenter, Director of the Hampshire College Library and Automation Project Manager, beginning in September 1982, and processed by Susan Dayall, Archivist at Hampshire College. Gai Carpenter ceased to be Project Manager in July 1994.

Addendum

When the boxes were transferred to the Five College Depository, an additional eight boxes of miscellaneous material were found with the cataloged series. They were labeled A1 through A8, their contents were inventoried and added to the end of the box contents list. In addition, one of the cataloged boxes (#23) was found to be missing. A note was added to the listing for this box. A further box was added in 2003 with material from the Amherst College Librarian's office.

Series 1: BYLAWS and LEGAL AGREEMENTS

Series 2: BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 1951-1978

Series 3: COOPERATIVE PROJECTS, 1913-1951

Series 4: MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE/LIBRARIANS COUNCIL, 1951-1978

Series 5: SELECTION COMMITTEE and OTHER COMMITTEES, 1971-1978

Series 6: ANNUAL REPORTS and NEWSLETTERS

Series 7: MEMORANDUMS TO AND FROM LIBRARIES, 1951-1978

Series 8: PUBLIC RELATIONS

Series 9: SUBJECT FILES

Series 10: ORDER BOOK, 1951-1978

Series 11: STUDIES and REPORTS, 1941-1978

Series 12: AUDITS and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, 1952-1978

Series 13: BUDGET, 1951-1978

Series 14: UNION LISTS

Series 15: DISPERSAL PROCESS, 1977-1978

Series 16: FIVE COLLEGE LIBRARY AUTOMATION PROJECT, 1981-1996

Addendum